For All Seasons
by Olivia Y
Summary: In their third and final year at Ryonan high, Sendoh and Koshino re-evaluate their relationship, amongst other things. [SenKosh]
1. Default Chapter

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For all Seasons

PROLOGUE

"Okay, I think that should be it!"

Glancing over the contents of his sports bag, Sendoh Akira did a quick mental check of anything he may have forgotten.

Hmm…that seems just about…oh wait…

Going over to his wardrobe, he opened one of the doors and picked up the outfit that was hanging from the back of it – his navy blue Ryonan basketball uniform, jersey number seven.

Seven…eh?

Sendoh smiled faintly to himself as he folded up the outfit and placed it in his bag with the rest of his belongings. For almost a whole year he's being listening to the crowds and reporters at those various basketball competitions refer to him as such: Number seven. It was almost uncanny to think that soon this number will belong to someone else.

Only one more week until school starts again…

Time sure flies all right…

Ryonan's coach Taoka had planned a five-day intensive training program as a way of getting the players "back into the pace", as he put it, for when the winter competitions start – not that anyone from Ryonan would dare to even _think_ of slacking off.

Sendoh drew his copy of the itinerary out of his pocket and sighed as he read over it again.

#Day one – Gather at Ryonan station at 7am. Arrive at venue. Afternoon practice game with xxx high.

#Day two – Morning practice game with xxx high. Rotational training in the afternoon.

#Day three – Morning practice game with xxx high. Rotational training in the afternoon.

#Day four – Intensive training.

#Day five – Intensive training in the morning. Winding up in the afternoon. Dismissal from Ryonan station at 7pm.

I hope everyone's up for this…

To assist the coach in the training week, their old captain Uozumi and vice-caption Ikegami, who both recently completed their university entrance exams, have made the special effort to accompany the team on this trip.

Probably just wanted to come along and watch us suffer…Sendoh smirked to himself…_but then it would be so great to see them again…_

Heck, it'd be great to see everybody again…

Indeed most of the team seemed to have been scattered all over the place for a large part of the summer, Sendoh couldn't help wondering if everyone was up for such a tiring week. Heaven knows Taoka-Sensei has no mercy.

Zipping up the bag and tossing it over his shoulder, Sendoh walked out of his room and quickly made his way down the stairs. Very rarely is he up voluntarily at this time of the morning, and was careful so that he doesn't disturb anybody on his way out.

As he made his way out the door and started his stroll towards the station, his thoughts wandered again to his teammates, and what the year ahead would bring to their team.

The winter games…though those are just a lead-up for the summer ones, we've still gotta do our best…

There'll be new members soon, wonder if we'll get any super-rookies this year…

Though it'll be harder without Uozumi-san as our center, Ryonan is still a strong team…

And I just know we'll all work to make it stronger…

Soon, the station came into sight, and with it, a small sea of blue where the Ryonan basketball team gathered. There was Fukuda, still with the same messy haircut and pouting expression, arguing about something with Uekusa. There was Hikoichi, the over-enthusiast with his trusty pen and notepad in hand, bouncing around all over the place striking up conversations with just about everyone…

And there was someone else…

Sendoh's smile broadened.

Leaning against the railing with both hands in his pockets, smooth ebony hair evenly parted down the center, a faint smile on his face as he listened quietly to his peers talking, every now and again nodding at something someone had said…

Finally again…

Koshino Hiroaki…

Sendoh's pace quickened…

Today's going to a beautiful day…

And this year…

This year will be the best ever…

The silent vow was made, and Sendoh proceeded to join the rest of his teammates.

A/N: Meant to be posted for SenKosh day…but belated…TT sob…this is what happens if you leave things up to the last minute…!!!

The world needs more SenKosh…the world needs a LOT more SenKosh!!!!!


	2. Fading Summer: Part one

CHAPTER ONE

The summer before, Ryonan lost the chance to compete in the inter-high basketball championships, and to everyone, that was quite a blow. Coach Taoka took it especially badly, though he did shoulder the blame for the loss, putting it down to his misjudgment of the strength of their opponents.

But that in no way implied that he was going to give up on this dream – if anything it made him more determined – with Sendoh still around, there was always hope – after all, Ryonan's own strength was recognized by all their competitors, and Taoka-sensei, though strict as heck, was a renowned coach; the dream was still there.

Sendoh knew this, and knew it well; but even _he_ was surprised when, upon alighting at their destination from the bullet-train, Taoka-sensei announced that they were heading straight for their first practice match, without even giving the team a chance to settle in at their motel.

"It'll be a good warm-up, and I'll be able to see who's been keeping up in their training during the summer vacation" He had said.

Audible groans were quickly muffled, they should've seen this coming, and yet, no one suspected it.

"Yikes…!" Koshino had whispered to Sendoh when Taoka-sensei was out of earshot "I am _so_ dead!"

"You didn't keep up your training?" Sendoh was surprised, Koshino was the last person he'd expect to be slacking off.

"I did as much as I could" Koshino replied "but I was pretty busy with that summer-job I had, so I'm definitely not in as good shape as I should be"

Sendoh smiled reassuringly at him "Don't worry, I'll cover you"

"Heh" Fukuda joined their conversation "Pretty sure of ourselves there future-captain"

"And how have _you_ been keeping up?" Sendoh challenged.

"You kidding?" Fukuda flexed his arms and put on a ridiculous expression "I can take you any day!"

All three of them burst out laughing, then quickly hushed to avoid the wrath of Taoka.

"Besides" Fukuda said in a more serious tone, turning to Koshino "As if you've got anything to worry about"

"Huh?"

"Come on, if the old man's gonna be yelling at anyone it'll be me" Fukuda said "like he's ever gonna yell at you, he loves you! I'm the one he's constantly wasting his saliva on"

Koshino frowned "Oh come on, that's not true, he's gotten a lot better now…and besides" he added after a thought "if he loves anyone it's Sendoh, not me"

"Hey, how did I get dragged into this?" Sendoh protested, but before he could go on, Taoka-sensei was demanding for order to set out for xxx high.

"Well Sendoh" Koshino grinned as they caught up with the rest "Let's see you do your thing"

---

No one was surprised that Ryonan won; Sendoh even had the feeling that Taoka-sensei was unsatisfied with the thirty-eight point difference they achieved by the end. But nevertheless, all the players were on their knees by the time they got back to the changing rooms.

"God please let there be no more training today!" Koshino cried after collapsing on one of the benches, his towel draped over his face.

"Amen" agreed the other players, though some of them had only been on the court for a few minutes; the sudden burst of energy they had needed was enough to floor them.

"Gee…talk about the summer slump!" Fukuda commented as he started to get changed, eyeing the rest of the team "you guys are in for a pretty tough week!"

"Humph!" Koshino grunted, sitting up "what the heck was Coach Taoka thinking anyway? Springing something like this on us?!"

"Maybe we should've seen this coming" Fukuda replied "After the summer games and all that…"

"Man…" Sendoh shook his head "I know we won that one, but it's a lot tougher without Uozumi-san as center, it was always something we could rely on before"

"Hmm…" Koshino nodded "Hopefully we get a couple of promising freshmen next spring"

"Yeah…"

"Don't worry about that!" Hikoichi popped up out of nowhere, still full of energy as he was not in the game "I'm sure there will be lots of new players joining Ryonan next year, with Sendoh-san around and everything!"

"Whoa…" Sendoh held up both hands to stop him "What do you mean by that? People don't join because of _me_"

"Of course they do!" Hikoichi insisted "Why do you think I chose to come here?"

Sendoh raised his eyebrows "Well it's…flattering, I guess…that people put me down as a reason in choosing a high school, over, say, education quality and all that…"

Fukuda and Koshino exchanged a grin.

"Get used to it superstar" Koshino said, standing up and patting Sendoh on the shoulder "'cos I'm guessing when the new people come, I suspect there'd be a lot of _this_ going on…" Here he cleared his throat and clasped his hands in front of his chest.

"Oh, Sendoh-senpai!" Koshino exclaimed in a voice so high Sendoh almost fell backwards "I…I have a confession to make!"

"Huh?!"

"The real reason, that I chose to come to Ryonan…was so I could get to know you!"

"Arh…Koshino?" Sendoh stuttered, trying to ignore everyone around them who were just killing themselves trying to hold back the urge to laugh "You feeling okay?"

"Hmm…I think you did it wrong" Fukuda was certainly not helping "That sounded more like those girls who go up to him to confess their undying love"

"Oh yeah? Really?" Koshino pondered this for a moment "Well how about…"

"That's quite enough!" Sendoh exclaimed, clasping a hand over the other boy's mouth "I think that's enough entertainment at my expense, I order you to stop it!"

"Wow…" Koshino eyed him "Someone's sure quick to settle into leadership mode, eh Captain?"

Captain…

Sure, he always knew it was coming, but it still felt weird when he was addressed like that.

"You know…" Sendoh suggested "Maybe it'd be better that you don't call me that for now, I mean there's still one week before the new semester begins so I'm not officially captain yet; and plus when we get to the motel Uozumi-san and Ikegami-san will both be there, it'd be a bit weird"

"Sure thing" Koshino nodded obediently "Whatever you say captain"

"Ay-ay sir!" Fukuda chanted, saluting.

Sendoh threw his towel at them "Enough with the jokes, hurry up and get changed or Coach's not gonna be too pleased, and I for one do not have the energy to deal with anymore lectures today"

---

For some, miraculous reason that no human could possibly explain, Coach-Taoka announced that those players who were on the court during the practice game that day could take the remainder of the afternoon off to settle in. Though the rest of the team had no choice but to endure the hellish training session that took place, for Sendoh, Fukuda, Koshino and the rest of the lucky few, it was relief like they've never known.

"You think Coach is sick or something?" Koshino asked when they were a safe distance away "Nothing like this has ever happened before"

Sendoh shrugged "Maybe, who knows? Don't question miracles"

Koshino smiled "I guess not; well anyway, I'm gonna hit the showers, that okay?"

"Sure thing, you go first" Sendoh replied "I've gotta organize my stuff anyway"

"Hmm…let me guess, you just threw in everything at the last minute and now your bag's just a big jumbled mess?"

"Oh go away" Sendoh chided, having been caught-out "I was busy until last night okay?"

"Busy…fishing?" Koshino mocked, then quickly made his escape before Sendoh could launch anything at him.

That's the problem when someone knows you too well…Sendoh thought as he dumped the contents of his bag onto his bed and started sorting through the pile.

The motel they had been booked into was adjoined with the gymnasium where the team's training was taking place. It wasn't that large, but was cozy enough; the rooms were assigned to the team members according to their current jersey numbers. As there were less second-years as there were first-years, they were lucky enough to be allocated the double rooms, while the first-years were left with the one large dorm-style room.

Naturally, being number seven, Sendoh was sharing a room with number six; he's shared a room with Koshino in the past, but they had never been alone. This was something new.

And it felt a little strange.

Hey this is no big deal…Sendoh reasoned as he continued to rummage through his belongings…_it's not like we're the only ones, it shouldn't be weird, I mean it's just the same as if I was sharing a room with Fukuda or Uekusa…and this is just like any other time, the room's just a lot smaller that's all._

Yeah…

That's all…

"Oh…damn!" He exclaimed as the suddenly realized "I _knew_ I was gonna forget something!!"

---

"I don't get it, you remember your hairspray but not your shampoo" Koshino shook his head "They're both for the hair and the latter is more important, seriously"

Sendoh smiled sheepishly as he handed the bottle of back to it's owner "Thanks for letting me use yours, I'll repay you someday"

"I wouldn't count on it" Koshino tossed the bottle back into his bag "So, what do you plan to do for the rest of this afternoon?"

Sendoh shrugged "This could well be the last chance we get this week to rest at all, I was thinking of taking advantage of that"

"Yeah? Well that makes sense" Koshino said "We're really gonna need to count on you this week, so make sure you stay in top form!"

"Count on _me_? But Coach and Uozumi-san and Ikegami-san are all here!"

"Well it's not any of them who're gonna become our next captain now, are they?"

"Ugh…" Sendoh ruffled his still-wet hair lightly "Talk about the pressure!"

Koshino laughed "Well get used to it superstar! 'Cos we're all looking at ya!" Here he checked his watch "We've still got a while before the training session ends, so you take this chance to relax, I'm gonna go see if I could make myself useful somehow"

"Really?" Sendoh looked up in surprise "Come on, this is your time-out as well, why not just stay here?"

"That's okay" Koshino was already making his way to the door "I'm fine, I didn't play for all that long anyway and besides, I think my stamina has deteriorated enough this holidays; gotta get back into it!"

"Wow…that makes me feel…kinda guilty…" Sendoh started to stand up "Maybe I should…"

"Don't be silly!" Koshino waved him down "You deserve this! Now start relaxing Captain!"

Sendoh raised an eyebrow, somewhat amused "Whatever you say, vice-captain!"

Koshino stopped for a moment and tossed back a funny look "Vice-captain? You better not mean me!"

"Huh?" Sendoh was taken aback "Why not?" He had always assumed that was the way things were going to be.

"Come on, you know as well as I do that I'm no leadership material" Koshino said matter-of-factly "You'll need someone a lot stronger"

"What?" Sendoh suddenly felt very confused.

"Anyway, I'm wasting time here" Koshino didn't seem to think the subject deserved any further discussion "Listen I'm quite happy to stay as player number six, you know? I'll see you at dinner"

Before Sendoh had a chance to say anything else, Koshino had left the room, shutting the door behind him.

What the heck just happened?

It wasn't something they had discussed formally, but it seemed to Sendoh that things would just naturally turn out that way. And it wasn't just him alone, from snippets of conversations he's had with others over the few weeks before school let out the summer before, including his teammates, the Coach, and the "retired" seniors, it was like an unofficial acknowledgement – Sendoh will be the next Captain, and Koshino would take the place of vice-captain.

But it appeared now that not only did Koshino not know of such an acknowledgement, he didn't even seem to want to go along with it; the look he had when Sendoh addressed him as such a moment ago seem to suggest he thought the idea was completely ridiculous.

And Sendoh felt a little offended.

Sure, it's nothing personal…He reasoned to himself…_It's not like he has something against me, it's just that he never thought of being vice-captain…it was probably just surprise or something…_

No wait…he didn't sound surprised…he didn't even stop to contemplate the idea…

Why doesn't he want to be vice-captain?

Is it really that horrible to work with me?

Ryonan's a pretty disciplined team, it's not like asking him to go manage Shouhoku or something…

So what's the problem? Is there a problem? Am I thinking too much?

Since when did I start thinking too much?

Is it weird that I feel like I've being rejected…?

Was it weird that I just thought that…?

Ugh…I'm just tired…

I need some sleep…

Yeah, sleep is good…

Looks like I'm gonna really need to go have a talk with him before I think too much into this…

Yeah…talking is good…I think…

Yeah…

He wasn't sure how long he was asleep for, but when Sendoh opened his eyes he found that dusk has long since passed, and the room was growing dark.

Hmm…this is what happens when you're forced to get up at the crack of dawn to finish packing…

He was about to switch on the bedside lamp when the door suddenly burst open.

"Hey! Sendoh! Get up, it's time to get to dinner!"

Koshino's voice rang out at the same time the overhead light came on, Sendoh cursed the motel for installing such bright light bulbs.

"Whoa…it's time already?" He asked groggily as he attempted to blink his vision back to normal.

"Yeah, you've been asleep for a long time"

"I…wasn't asleep all the way through…" Sendoh protested weakly, a little embarrassed.

"Yeah, right" Koshino sneered "So you're saying when I came back here three hours ago you were wide awake and fully alert?"

"Ch' caught out" Sendoh sighed "So how was your afternoon?"

"Excellent!" Koshino beamed "It's so much more fun drilling other people than being drilled"

"You enjoy torturing people?" Sendoh raised an eyebrow "This is a side of Koshino Hiroaki I've never seen"

His companion laughed "Oh come one, it's not like that; it just feels nice to help the freshmen learn, I mean they didn't have that many opportunities to do much last year, kinda feel like they deserve the stage a little more…and plus they're all so hardworking!"

This is the guy who says he's not suitable for a leadership role?!

Sendoh eyed his friend for a moment, trying to think of a way to bring up the subject without making it seem awkward.

"Hey you know this afternoon when we…"

That was all Sendoh could get out before the door to their room was thrown open with a loud bang.

"Sendoh! Koshino! Dining hall! Now!"

Coach Taoka's voice boomed like a foghorn, what remained unsaid on Sendoh's part was practically blown out of his head.

"All right, you heard the old man" Koshino made a face, before turning back to Sendoh "What was it you were about to say?"

"Umm…" _How the heck am I meant to do this now?! "_You know what? It's not important" He sighed and put the thoughts aside "We'd better get going before he gets out a whistle or something…"

"Well, okay then" Koshino agreed "I'm ready to go but you sure you wanna go out there like that?" He gestured to Sendoh's hair "It's not great for your image"

"Ugh!" Sendoh groaned as he reached up and felt his sleep-damaged spikes "Look, you go out there and cover for me okay? I'll be there in a second…"

"Okay" Koshino complied as he left the room, calling back "But if Coach blows up I'm gonna put full blame on you!"

Heh…

Ah well…I still have the rest of the week left don't I?

And besides, nothing has to be decided now, we could work on it even after going back to school…

Is it weird that I feel relieved he's talking to me normally?

Not that he ever stopped talking to me…

Oh man…

Maybe I'm not fully awake yet or something…

Or maybe I'm too hungry…yeah that's it, low blood sugar makes it hard to think normally.

That's all this is…

Well, I guess my hair should be okay now, I can go get some food into me…

Hmm…

Well what do you know?

My hair now smells like Koshino…

Is it weird I just thought that…?

Umm…food…

Yeah…food is good…

Quickly, to prevent anymore such thoughts from entering his head, Sendoh quickly left the room and headed for the dining hall, where he hoped the noise and his teammates will be enough distraction for him to stop feeling that way.

Seasons are turning…

And everything is changing…

---

A/N : This chapter may get tuned a little over the next week or so, I don't quite know how, but anyway…I don't know if Hikoichi actually went to Ryonan for Sendoh, but he idolises him so I'm guessing it's not too far a cry from it...

The world needs more SenKosh…the world needs a LOT more SenKosh!!!!!

(As a warning, the above line will likely appear at the bottom of every chapter…;;;;;)


End file.
